The present invention relates generally to abrasive tools and more particularly to an abrasive tool with flat and consistent surface topography for conditioning a chemical-mechanical polishing or chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) pad and method for making the tool.
CMP processes are carried out to produce flat (planar) surfaces on a variety of materials including semiconductor wafers, glasses, hard disc substrates, sapphire wafers and windows, plastics and so forth. Typically, CMP processes involve using a polymeric pad (CMP pad) and a slurry that contains loose abrasive particles and other chemical additives to remove material to reach designed dimension, geometry, and surface characteristics (e.g., planarity, surface roughness) by both chemical and mechanical actions.
During a typical CMP process, the CMP pad becomes glazed with polishing residue. This necessitates the use of a CMP conditioner (also referred to as a CMP dresser) to condition or dress the CMP pad in order to eliminate the glazing and residue. Eliminating the glazing and residue allows the CMP pad to deliver stable polishing performance.
Generally, a CMP conditioner is fabricated by using a metal bond to fix abrasive particles to a preform to create an abrasive tool with a working surface that can condition CMP pads. The flatness and topography of the working surface can dictate how well a CMP conditioner conditions a CMP pad. A CMP conditioner with a working surface that is not flat and inconsistent in its topography will cut and/or damage the CMP pad. This type of topography eventually affects the ability of the CMP pad to provide consistent and uniform polishing during the CMP process. Additionally, in applications where a CMP pad is used to polish semiconductor wafers, a cut and/or damaged pad will affect the yield of integrated circuit chips formed from a wafer.